Dark sights in Hawaii
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National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Today it's the site of a 114-acre National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific where the remains of over 25,000 US soldiers are interred, more than half of whom were killed in the Pacific during WWII. The remains of Ernie Pyle, the distinguished war correspondent who covered both world wars and was hit by machine gun fire on Ie Shima during the final days of WWII, lie in section D, grave 109.
Five stones to the left, at grave D-1, is the marker for astronaut Ellison Onizuka, the Big Island native who perished in the 1986 Challenger space-shuttle disaster. Their resting places are marked with the same style of flat granite stone that marks each of the cemetery's graves. A…
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Lindbergh's Grave
Charles Lindbergh, who relished his privacy during the final years of his life, moved to remote Kipahulu in 1968. Following his death from cancer in 1974, Lindbergh was buried in the graveyard of Palapala Ho'omau Congregational Church. The inscription he selected for his simple grave ('If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uppermost parts of the sea…') is taken from Psalm 139.
The church with its 26in-thick walls and simple wooden pews dates from 1864. Take a look at its window painting of a Polynesian Christ draped in the red and yellow feather capes that were worn only by Hawaii's highest chiefs.
Lindbergh's spirit (and his desire to be out of the public…
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Makaluapuna Point
Makaluapuna Point, the northwest point of Oneloa Bay, is topped by a curious formation known as the Dragon's Teeth. The lava rock here has been cut by whipping surf into 3ft-high spikes that bear an uncanny resemblance to pointed teeth. It's a fun site to walk to and only takes about 15 minutes return.
En route you'll pass the Honokahua burial site, a 13.6-acre native burial ground; you can skirt along the outside of this area but don't enter any sites marked 'Please Kokua,' which are easily visible islets of overgrown native vegetation bordering manicured golf greens.
To get to the Makaluapuna Point end of the beach, drive north to the end of Lower Honoapi'ilani Rd, past…
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Old Courthouse
Seaside of the banyan tree stands Lahaina's Old Courthouse, built in 1859. The location overlooking the bustling harbor was no coincidence. Smuggling was so rampant during the whaling era that officials deemed this theideal spot to house the customs operations, the courthouse and the jail - all neatly wrapped into a single building. It also held the governor's office, and in 1898 the US annexation of Hawaii was formally concluded here.
The old jail in the basement has been turned into the Banyan Tree Gallery and the cells that once held drunken sailors now display fine artwork. It's a fun place to walk through. One of the cells displays fascinating period photos showing…
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C
Lihu'e Lutheran Church
Atop a curvy country lane just off Kaumuali'i Hwy (Hwy 50)is Lihu'e Lutheran Church, Hawaii's oldest Lutheran church, a quaint clapboard house of worship, with an incongruously slanted floor that resembles a ship's deck and a balcony akin to a captain's bridge. German immigrants built this church, styling it after their own late-19th-century boat.
Completed in 1983, this building is actually a faithful reconstruction of the 1885 original, which was leveled in Hurricane 'Iwa in 1982. Fancying an afterlife with a view, the immigrants themselves now lie at rest in the church cemetery on a knoll overlooking the cane fields in which they toiled. Visitors are welcome to stroll…
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D
St Raphael's Catholic Church
St Raphael's Catholic Church, Kaua'i's oldest Catholic church, is the burial site of some of Hawaii's first Portuguese immigrants. The original church, built in 1854, was made of lava rock and coral mortar with walls 3ft thick - a type of construction visible in the ruins of the adjacent rectory. When the church was enlarged in 1936 it was plastered over, creating a more-typical whitewashed appearance.
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